Once upon a time, Tehran had a lice removal association!

In the early 20s, typhus spread in Tehran. Some residents and doctors of the city took jihadi measures to prevent its spread in Tehran. Among them was the activity of a group of doctors in Odlajan neighborhood to disinfect and spray the neighborhood.

Ambassador Arjan-Soraya Rozbahani: In the early 20s, typhus spread in Tehran. Some residents and doctors of the city took jihadi measures to prevent its spread in Tehran. Among them was the activity of a group of doctors in Odlajan neighborhood to disinfect and spray the neighborhood. Also, in Sangalj bathhouse, Typhoid Prevention Association was opened to provide free services, so that bathers' clothes are put in a special lice disposal machine and cleaned.

Harun Yeshayai, a famous cinema producer and an old resident of Tehran's Oudlajan neighborhood, says about this historical event: "At that time, I was a child of seven or eight years old and we lived in the traditional neighborhood of Kilimian in the center of Oudlajan. At the same time, the Kalimians had a medical center that belonged to one of the synagogues. This center, which has now become Dr. Sapir Hospital, was a small clinic. The head of this clinic, who was one of the first medical graduates of Tehran University, was called Dr. Ruhollah Sapir. He and the members of the clinic could not do anything to treat typhus patients and the patients were transferred to Sinai Hospital; But Dr. Sapir planned another plan. As you know, the vector of typhus disease was lice. As a result, Dr. Sepir gathered some young people and with the facilities and equipment he provided, aimed at disinfecting houses to prevent the spread of typhus disease.

"Groups of two or three people composed of young boys and girls, both Kilimi and Muslim, were formed voluntarily, and Dr. Sapir would send these groups to their homes along with bags containing disinfectants." Saying this, Yashaian narrates the activities of these young people as follows: "They threw out the beds and even the clothes and started spraying. Dr. Sapir himself was at the head of these groups and accompanied them to the houses. Unfortunately, several of these children and Dr. Sepir himself contracted typhus, and several people were saved, but Dr. Sepir died in 1322 at the age of 32 due to his closeness to this issue and despite the fact that he was very young. People at home also cooperated with these groups. Because typhus was a very terrible disease and people were closer together. Keep in mind that the crowd wasn't as large as it is today and there wasn't as much spread out as there is now, so they immediately got together and tried to empathize to fix the problem. But now the situation is such that some consider not paying attention to what the officials said as a sign of courage, while at that time, in response to Dr. Sapir's request for cooperation, 30-40 people gathered in the same local synagogue and formed groups of two or three and went to the houses with disinfectant bags. Of course, Sinai Hospital, as a large hospital, played a role in this case. Some of the people of Kalim were in the medicine business, and Dr. Sepir also took and distributed disinfectant solutions from them. In other words, the cooperation of the people solved this crisis. When I researched later, the radius of the disease did not cover the entire city, that is, it was in the southern part of the city from Molvi to Naser Khosro and Ray Street. This was probably due to the fact that there was not much traffic, but it took almost until 1324 for this disease to be controlled because the Iranian nation had the culture and ability to deal with typhus. In other words, the outbreak of this disease lasted from 1942 to the end of 1945.

Newspapers published many reports and news at intervals in 1322 to inform the people of Tehran. There is a story about Sangalj baths related to a news that was published in the newspaper of the year 1322, as well as another report on April 9 of the same year about the outbreak of this disease in Tehran. There was a news with the following content: "Sangalaj Square bath, which was built and run by the Association for the Prevention of Typhoid Patients, was opened. Those who wish can use it for free. Bathers' clothes are placed in a special lice disposal device and cleaned." Also, on April 9, another report on the state of the city was published and it was written: "The prevalence of typhus disease, which has unfortunately intensified in most parts of the city, has become a cause of public concern and anxiety, and the problem of Nazhai has added to the problems of the people. Typhus disease was present as an epidemic in Tehran for some time and until now it has caused many casualties to different classes of people and even several doctors and some young people who were studying in the medical school and were engaged in treating typhoid patients in hospitals were infected with this deadly disease and sacrificed their lives for public health. What is evident is the spread of typhus from public gatherings. The people who go over each other to get bread and oil, coffee houses and caravanserais and other places where the poor people live, are an effective factor for the transmission of lice, and it is from these places that typhus lice are transmitted by people to other places. It is the duty of the government to temporarily close all public gatherings and coffee houses, where most of the spread of this dangerous disease comes from, and to take care and inspect carefully in the heaths to ensure complete cleanliness. Another issue to prevent this disease is burning the clothes of typhoid patients in the morgue. It is better for the Ministry of Culture to close the girls' or boys' primary schools for 20-30 days and to postpone their final exams by one month this year in order not to harm the education of the students, or to make special arrangements for the cleaning of all the children in the primary schools or to take care of doctors. Cafes, guest houses and even cinemas should be closed for a while.